Breakingviews - Chinese markets have much to fear from fear itself

A China yuan note is seen in this illustration photo May 31, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration

HONG KONG (Reuters Breakingviews) - Chinese markets have much to fear from fear itself. Global angst mostly accounts for a recent 6 percent fall in the yuan against the U.S. dollar. There’s little to dread about tumbling Chinese stocks or an uptick in bond defaults. Patience is not one of President Xi Jinping’s virtues, though, and panicked intervention by frightened officials is a risk.

In the back of their collective psyches will be the summer of three years ago. In June 2015, the benchmark CSI300 index began a nearly 50 percent plunge as investors unwound highly leveraged positions, erasing some $5 trillion of market value.

Two months later, the central bank shocked currency markets with a 4.5 percent weakening of the yuan’s official guidance rate over a few days. A surge in capital outflows sharply accelerated the draining of $1 trillion from China’s foreign exchange reserves, complicating attempts to prop up growth.

This latest share swoon of about 15 percent will be painful for equity owners, and disappointing for companies hoping to tap markets if securities regulators slow approvals for new listings and placements. There is little economic risk, though. Chinese stock prices rarely affect consumption or investment. Borrowing also has been restrained. The net balance of stock margin loans stands around $136 billion, less than half the amount outstanding at the 2015 peak, according to Eikon data.

As for the yuan, there is some concern it is being pushed down for trade war purposes. The idea doesn’t stack up. Nearly every emerging-market currency is declining. And Bank for International Settlements data suggests the yuan had overheated against its peers, so this cooling realigns it with neighbours. The People’s Bank of China has rebuilt hard currency reserves to $3.1 trillion: plenty of firepower to hold off a sharper crash.

These resets do, however, coincide with rising tensions between Beijing and Washington, and slowing growth thanks to the crackdown on financial risk. In 2015, officials threw government money at shares, closed down derivatives and arrested “malicious shorters.” A return to such ham-fisted measures could derail deleveraging efforts. And for good reason, it also would scare off foreign investors.

Breakingviews

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